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Friday, June 20, 2014

As reported by NASA Spaceflight: SpaceX will conduct the second mission of its multi-launch contract
with Orbcomm Friday, with a Falcon 9 v1.1 rocket orbiting six OG2
satellites for the company’s next-generation constellation. The launch
is scheduled to occur from Cape Canaveral during a fifty-seven minute
window opening at 18:08 local time (22:08 UTC).Falcon 9 v1.1 Mission:SpaceX’s first Orbcomm launch consisted of a single satellite deployed as a secondary payload to the CRS-1 Dragon mission to the ISS in October 2012.This ended in failure after a first stage engine malfunction left the rocket unable to reach the Orbcomm’s designated deployment orbit, despite unloading its Dragon payload successfully.As a result the satellite was left in an unusable orbit from which it
quickly decayed, unable to fulfil its mission. This anomaly, overall a
partial failure, remains the only blemish on the Falcon 9′s launch
record.Eighteen
Orbcomm Generation 2 (OG2) satellites have been produced; of these one
was lost in the 2012 failure, six are aboard Friday’s launch, with the
remaining eleven expected to fly together aboard a single Falcon 9 later
this year.Orbcomm has options for up to thirty more satellites which can be
produced for replenishment or to increase the size of the constellation
should it be necessary.The prime contractor for the program is the Sierra Nevada
Corporation, with Argon ST of Virginia producing their communications
subsystems.Each spacecraft is based on Sierra Nevada’s SN-100A bus, with a mass
of 172 kilograms (380 lb) and is designed for an operational lifespan of
at least five years. The spacecraft are each powered by a
gallium-arsenide solar panel producing 400 watts of electrical power.Each OG2 spacecraft is three-axis stabilised with hydrazine thrusters used for attitude control.The
satellites’ communications systems offer transfer rates up to four
megabits per second at VHF frequencies between 137 and 153 megahertz,
with each vehicle also carrying an Automatic Identification System (AIS)
receiver to pick up identification and tracking signals broadcast by
ships at sea – Orbcomm intends to sell this data to coastguard services.The second-generation constellation is expected to increase the capacity of the Orbcomm network six to twelve times over.Not including Friday’s launch, forty seven Orbcomm spacecraft have
been launched to date, with the first being the Orbcomm-X spacecraft
which was deployed by an Ariane 4 in July 1991.A technology demonstrator for the remainder of the constellation, no
signals from the spacecraft were ever received. Two further
demonstration launches occurred in 1993, followed by the first two
operational satellites in April 1995.The majority of the first-generation satellites were deployed in cluster launches which made use of Orbital Sciences’ Pegasus-XL rocket.Three groups of eight satellites and one group of seven were launched between 1997 and 1999, with two more spacecraft flying atop a Taurus in 1998.The original satellites were designed to operate for four years,
however it was not until 2008 that a replenishment launch took place,
with a Russian Kosmos-3M carrying five Orbcomm Quick Launch satellites
and the CDS-3 technology demonstrator.Most of these satellites failed within a year of the launch due to
problems with their attitude control systems, while those that were not
rendered completely unusable could not be used to their full capacity,
and within two years all six spacecraft were unserviceable.Orbcomm was forced to lease two VesselSat satellites from LuxSpace to
provide interim capacity; these spacecraft were launched in October
2011 and January 2012.Friday’s launch will be conducted by the Space Exploration Technologies Corporation, better known as SpaceX.The
company was initially awarded a contract to launch the eighteen OG2
satellites in 2009, using its smaller Falcon 1 rocket. Expected to use
the enhanced Falcon 1e configuration, which ultimately never flew, the
satellites were transferred to Falcon 9 launches after SpaceX opted to
withdraw the Falcon 1 from service.The Falcon 1 had been SpaceX’s first rocket. The vehicle’s first
three launches, in 2006, 2007 and 2008 all failed, however after a
successful demonstration launch in September 2008, Malaysia’s RazakSat satellite was deployed in 2009 by what would turn out to be the final Falcon 1 launch.While SpaceX initially attempted to develop the stretched and
re-engined Falcon 1e, this was quickly abandoned in favour of launching
more satellites as secondary payloads aboard the Falcon 9.Falcon
9 launches at Cape Canaveral take place from a former Titan launch pad,
Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40). The pad was built in the 1960s for
the Titan III, and served Titan IIIC, III(34)D and IV launches until the
final Titan launch from the Cape in 2005.Following the demolition of the Titan service towers in 2008, SpaceX
began to convert SLC-40 to a clean pad for its rocket. The first Falcon 9
went vertical at the pad in January 2009, however it was not until June
2010 that the type made its maiden flight with the deployment of the
Dragon Spacecraft Qualification Unit, a “boilerplate” mockup of the
Dragon spacecraft which later flights were expected to carry.In December 2010 the Falcon 9′s second launch carried the first functional Dragon spacecraft, which completed two orbits of the Earth before being deorbited and recovered successfully.The next three launches carried Dragon missions which resupplied the International Space Station; the first a test, with the next two as operational flights.The first five Falcon 9 launches
used a configuration which has become known retrospectively as the
v1.0. In September 2013 it was replaced with the more powerful v1.1
configuration, which stretched both stages, reorganised the first stage
engines into an octagonal arrangement rather than the square used on
earlier missions and upgraded those engines from the Merlin-1C to 1D
specification.California’s Vandenberg Air Force Base was the scene of the v1.1′s maiden flight – this remains the only Falcon 9 mission to date not to originate from Cape Canaveral.After a successful launch that deployed the CASSIOPE satellite for
Canada, the Falcon 9 was cleared for commercial geostationary launches;
deploying Luxembourg’s SES-8 in December 2013 and Thailand’s Thaicom 6 in January 2014.The rocket’s most recent launch deployed another Dragon mission to the ISS, marking the first launch for the Dragon atop a Falcon 9 v1.1.The most recent Dragon launch marked the introduction of landing legs at the aft end of the rocket.
Intended to eventually allow spent stages to be recovered and
potentially reused, these legs will again feature on Friday’s launch.On the Dragon mission SpaceX were able to demonstrate controlled
flight up until the stage reached the ocean, and it is hoped that Friday’s launch will bring SpaceX a step closer to being able to attempt a land recovery. For this mission, however, the stage is expected to land in the sea.A two-stage rocket, the Falcon 1 burns RP-1 propellant, oxidised by
liquid oxygen, in both of its stages. The first stage is powered by nine
Merlin-1D engines, while a vacuum-optimised version of the Merlin-1D
propels the second stage. The rocket is named after the Millennium
Falcon spacecraft in the Star Wars films.In
preparation for the launch, the Falcon 9 was rolled out overnight, with
its powerup occurring at 08:38 UTC (04:38 local); thirteen and a half
hours before the beginning of the launch window.Controllers will come on station and begin the final preparations for
the vehicle’s launch. Fuelling is expected to start around three hours
and fifty minutes before liftoff with oxidiser tanking, while propellant
loading will be started ten minutes later.By the three hour, 15-minute mark this will be complete apart from
continual replenishment of the oxygen throughout the count as it boils
off.At
T-10 minutes the automated sequence will take over control of the
countdown. The rocket will transfer to internal power at the six minute
mark in the countdown. Following this the ‘strongback’ structure used to
transport it to the pad, erect it and support umbilicals will be
retracted; this will likely occur between five and four minutes ahead of
the liftoff.At around T-3 minutes, thirty seconds the flight termination system –
the self-destruct system used to ensure that the rocket cannot
inadvertently hit a populated area if it goes out of control during
ascent – will be transferred to internal power and subsequently armed.The launch director will confirm the rocket is ‘go’ for launch at the
two and a half minute mark, with the range control officer confirming
that he is ready to proceed thirty seconds later.One
minute before launch the vehicle will begin its startup sequence and
its fuel tanks will pressurize. Also around this time the pad’s water
deluge system will be turned on to protect the complex from the Falcon’s
engine exhausts.The nine first stage engines will ignite about two seconds ahead of
the rocket lifting off, giving time to ensure they have started
correctly before the rocket is released.About a minute after launch the rocket will be travelling at the
speed of sound, Mach 1, with the rocket passing through the area of
maximum dynamic pressure, max-Q, about fifteen seconds later.The
first stage engines will burn for two minutes and 38 seconds, with the
spent stage separating around three seconds after the burn is complete.
Following a further eight second coast the second stage engine will be
ignited.The payload fairing, which protects the satellites from the
atmosphere during ascent, will separate from the nose of the rocket in
the first minute of second-stage flight; likely around forty-five
seconds after ignition.Second stage flight will last six minutes and 46 seconds, and its
conclusion will mark the end of powered flight nine minutes and 39
seconds after liftoff. Deployment of the six OG2 satellites will begin
approximately five minutes later.The
satellites are attached to the rocket by means of two EELV Secondary
Payload Adaptors (ESPAs), devices which were developed by Moog
Incorporated to allow Atlas V and Delta IV rockets to carry six
additional payloads mounted below their primary passenger.Instead for the Orbcomm launch the ESPA has been modified so as to
only carry four satellites, with two fitted together to provide eight
slots.Mass simulators have been bolted to the two unused slots either side of the lower ESPA.The Falcon 9′s target orbital parameters are a perigee of 615
kilometres (382 statute miles, 332 nautical miles), an apogee of 750
kilometres (466 miles, 405 nautical miles) and inclination of 52
degrees.Friday’s launch is the thirty-fifth orbital attempt of 2014, with the only failure to date being May’s Proton launch with Ekspress-AM4R.
It is the third Falcon 9 launch of the year, with the rocket’s next
launch slated to take place in July with the AsiaSat-8 communications
satellite.For the United States, the Falcon launch is the country’s tenth of
the year. The next American launches are planned for 1 July, with the
Delta II making its first flight since 2011 when it orbits the OCO-2
satellite for NASA, and an Antares-120 sending the next Cygnus mission on its way to resupply the International Space Station.(Images:
via L2′s SpaceX section, now containing thousands of unreleased photos
of all Dragon missions to the ISS. Other images via Jacques van Oene/Spacepatches.nl, SpaceX Orbital and NASA).

Thursday, June 19, 2014

As reported by The Verge: The Federal Communications Commission is laying down its largest fine
ever against a Chinese retailer that's allegedly been selling hundreds
of models of illegal signal jammers over at least the past two years.
The online retailer, CTS Technology, is being given a fine of $34.9
million, the maximum that the FCC can issue in this instance. Operating a
signal jammer is illegal in the United States, as is selling and
advertising them. Unfortunately for CTS Technology — which allegedly was
brazen enough to claim that its jammers were FCC approved — it actually
sold 10 units to FCC personnel.The FCC takes the sale of jammers seriously because they can prevent
people from making 911 or other emergency calls, in addition to
preventing communication by law enforcement. "Signal jammers present a
direct danger to public safety, potentially blocking the communications
of first responders," Travis LeBlanc, acting chief of the FCC's
enforcement bureau, says in a statement. CTS Technology's jammers were
able to do far more than that: various models it sold were allegedly
able to block cell signals, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, satellite radio, and GPS,
among others. Certain models were even effective up to half a mile away.
CTS Technology is said to currently have 285 models on sale.The FCC realizes that it's easy for Americans to buy signal jammers like
these online, and it seems to be trying to set an example here of why
international companies should be careful about where they market their
products. The FCC is also ordering CTS Technology to stop selling and
marketing the devices to US consumers and to hand over information about
parties in the US that it sold them to. CTS Technology will still have a
chance to appeal the fine or petition for a reduction, otherwise it'll
have to pay within 30 days.

As reported by Fox News: Like loud pipes? Better get them while you can.Harley-Davidson today revealed its first electric motorcycle, called Project LiveWire.It’s the most radical departure in the 111-year history of the brand,
best known for building rolling thunder on two wheels. A vision for a
possible future production bike, Project LiveWire features more of a
sporty touring look than the company’s classic cruisers.The prototype is powered by a longitudinally-mounted electric motor
rated at 74 hp and 52 lb-ft of torque, on par with H-D’s 833 cc internal
combustion engine. The battery-powered unit was developed with help
from electric powertrain specialist Mission Motors. Harley-Davidson
says the belt-driven bike can accelerate from 0-60 mph in under four
seconds, and has an electronically restricted top speed of 92 mph.A teaser video of the bike in action reveals a sound that’s the sort
of futuristic combination of whine and whoosh familiar to fans of
electric motorcycle racing.

The current range of the development version of Project LiveWire is only 53 miles per charge, but Chief Engineer Jeff Richlen says H-D will be
soliciting feedback from current and potential customers to find out the
sort of performance they’d expect from this type of motorcycle if it
makes it to production.

To that end, starting next week in New York, he’s sending the bikes
on a tour of H-D dealerships across the country, where test rides will
be available. As for when something like Project LiveWire may be on sale
in those stores, H-D hasn't announced a timeline just yet.Harley-Davidson sold over 260,000 motorcycles last year and is
aggressively pursuing new markets around the world. It recently
introduced a new lineup of small, low-priced motorcycles, the Street 500 and Street 750,
that it builds in the U.S. and India and targets at new and urban
riders. Richlen expects it's new rolling lightning to appeal to overseas
customers, as well.

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

As reported by Reuters: A surge in mobile
Internet usage has U.S. regulators considering whether to apply the
same rules to fixed and wireless Internet traffic, and large technology
firms are siding with consumer advocates to call for such a change.The Federal
Communications Commission is now rewriting the so-called "net
neutrality" rules, aimed at ensuring that Internet providers do not
unfairly block or slow down users' access to content on the web, after
their 2010 version was rejected in January by an appeals court. As
part of that process, the agency is seeking comments on whether it
should take a fresh look at distinctions now drawn between wireless and
wireline networks.

Consumer
groups have long advocated stricter anti-blocking and
anti-discrimination rules for mobile web traffic. This year, they have
powerful allies in Internet companies like Google and Facebook, who see mobile as an increasingly popular platform.

"The distinction between wireless and
wireline is certainly not the same as it was... The enforceable net
neutrality rules should apply equally, whether you use the Internet on
your mobile or home broadband," said Michael Beckerman, head of the
Internet Association, which represents three dozen web companies
including Amazon.com and Netflix.

"There
will be differences in terms of network management, but at the end of
the day, the same fundamental principles ... need to apply to the mobile
world."

The new look at
the rules comes as Americans routinely use smartphones to watch videos
and browse websites. A growing number of U.S. consumers, many of them
low income, non-white and young, rely on such devices as their primary
means of Internet access.

The
lines between fixed and broadband continue to blur as mobile carriers
develop fixed broadband businesses of their own and use Wi-Fi to offload
wireless data traffic, and cable broadband providers create Wi-Fi
hotspots for their customers.

Under
the 2010 rules, both fixed and wireless Internet providers were banned
from blocking users' access to legal websites, with exclusions for
reasonable network management.

But
wireline carriers also couldn't block legal applications or
"unreasonably discriminate" against any legal web traffic or apps, while
wireless providers were only banned from blocking applications that
competed with their own voice or video calling services.

Wireless
carriers say it would be unwise to impede their customers' freedom to
roam the web, and that stricter rules would hurt how they manage their
dynamic shared networks, leading to slower Internet speeds for everyone.

"The
FCC already acknowledged the unique nature of wireless, specifically
the technical and operational challenges our industry faces, including
the need to ... actively manage networks to provide high quality service
to a customer base that is constantly on the go," said Meredith Attwell
Baker, CEO of CTIA, the wireless trade group.

Both sides plan to lobby the FCC as
the agency collects public comments on its proposed rules until Sept.
10. Scrutiny on the wireless space promises to be more intense than
before.
"It'll be a topic
that will have big resonance among the commissioners: why should
wireless be treated differently than wireline in terms of net
neutrality," said one senior FCC official, who spoke anonymously to
discuss the ongoing review.

As reported by GulfNews: SITA, air transport IT and
communications specialists, is set to roll out mobile phone friendly
beacons at 10 global airports, including airports in the Middle East, over the
next 12 months that will streamline passenger airport experiences.

SITA is in talks with “major
hubs in Europe, United States, Asia and the Middle East,” said Kevin
O’Sullivan, Lead Engineer at SITA Lab, an innovation division.

O’Sullivan was speaking at a press conference on the sidelines of the SITA Air Transport IT Summit in Brussels on Wednesday.

The beacons use Bluetooth low energy
technology (BlE) that transmit signals that can be received by iPhone
IOS 7 and later software and newer Android models.

Passengers will be able to
download airline specific mobile applications that connect with the
beacons. The application will provide passengers with directions, walk
times to gates, lounge access and boarding alerts by using the beacon
signals to locate where the passenger is in the airport.

The beacons can transmit signals to mobile devices that are up to a kilometer away.

SITA also announced on
Wednesday it is launching the Common-use Beacon Registry that will set
an industry standard by defining data sets and beacon types to be
positioned at airports.

Six-month trialAmerican Airlines is
spearheading the rollout of the technology with a 180-day trial in
conjunction with SITA at Dallas Forth Worth International where beacons
have been placed throughout Terminal D.

American and SITA have been
testing beacons for the past nine months and is using a brand called
StickNFind that is slightly larger than a Dh1 coin. SITA and American
Airlines did not disclose the costs of the trial. However, Phil Easter,
American Airlines Director of Mobile Apps, said that each device, with a
battery lifespan of up to five years, costs about $10.

American is confident the
beacons will improve passenger experiences and lower costs and will roll
it out to the general public in the next quarter through an integrated
application, Easter said.

He added, that 65% of
American Airlines’ passengers arrive at the gate early because they are
“scared” of missing their flight. He also said that many complaints
from passengers are because they did not hear that the boarding gate had
changed.

Airlines have to unload
passenger baggage if the passenger misses the flight, which can cause
roll on delays that disrupt the networking and ultimately increase
costs.

Privacy

The beacon passenger location
technology raises concerns over passenger privacy. The beacons do not
transmit data, just a signal to the passengers mobile device, however,
airlines will be able to collect data through the application.

It is unlikely there will be
an airline beacon app, rather the feature will be tied into a passengers
existing airline application that they use to track membership points,
flight details and to make bookings.

However, Easter dismissed
concerns and said that American will not be tracking passenger movement.
He added that it is “opt-in” technology that passengers elect to use.
The feature will not work unless the passenger has downloaded the
application.

As reported by MotorAuthority: It was only a matter of time: Following the launchof Apple's CarPlay in-car operating system at this year's Geneva Motor
Show, Google is set to reveal its own automotive operating system. Known
internally as Google Auto Link, the company will reveal its system at a
software developer conferencethis month.As Automotive News reports, Auto Link is the first product
developed in conjunction with the Open Automotive Alliance, a group of
companies including Audi, General Motors Company [NYSE:GM], Honda,
Hyundai, chipmaker NVIDIA Corp and Google itself. Just like CarPlay,
it's not an "embedded" system but a "projected" one—an operating system
that uses a driver's own smartphone operating system. In this case,
that's Google's Android OS, available on a multitude of hand-held
devices.The interface hasn't yet been revealed, nor has any announcement been
made as to which automaker will use the system first. When the Open AutomotiveAlliance was formed, the group said it would bring Android to cars "starting in 2014". By contrast, Apple's system was demonstrated at Geneva in conjunction with Volvo, whose new touchscreen infotainment system will feature CarPlay in the next-generation XC90 SUV. Other automakers set to use CarPlay include Ferrari, Honda, Hyundai, Jaguar and Mercedes-Benz.Apple's CarPlay interface closely resembles that familiar to iPhone and iPad users, and handles several in-car functions—as well as letting users bring up certain smartphone apps in their vehicles. Google
itself is familiar to many drivers from existing interfaces. Audi uses
Google Earth satellite images for its GPS maps, while some Hyundai
drivers can use a built-in Google search engine and voice commands to
find nearby destinations.

In addition to Auto Link, Google is also making noise regarding new Android platform features which, in Google's own words, "enable the car itself to become a connected Android device". More details of this are expected soon.

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About Me

I have more than 25 years of experience in development, design, and mobile communications products and technology. I also enjoy skiing, hiking, scuba, tennis, reading, traveling, foreign languages, and painting. I'm an active member of the National Ski Patrol (NSP) and volunteer my time at either Loveland Ski resort, or Ski Cooper.